We're getting married!

Jenn and I met during the summer of 2019 when we started our graduate program at the University of South Carolina. Bonding over rigorous school work and long work hours in the midst of a pandemic we grew close over our two years there. Unbeknownst to even myself, I was dropping hints to Jenn that we would be really good together. It began while helping her cover a ballet performance and hearing the dancers complain about their boyfriends on what was coincidentally Valentine's Day. I made sure Jenn knew that could never be me and I would be a great boyfriend, all right before she met her date for the night (which I crashed). Another time while thrifting with Jenn and her maid of honor, Mary Catherine, we joked that our last names were just too good together to not get married. She pretend married us right there in the car and the bit grew stronger. Even as we prepared for graduation, we wrote heartfelt letters reminiscing our time together and once more proclaiming maybe in another lifetime we would've been good together, but she was set to make her mark in Richmond while I ended up in Idaho following graduation. What feels like obvious examples in hindsight were truly silly jokes between great friends...or so we thought. Coming home for Christmas in 2021 just a few months after graduation, I had planned a lunch trip with my Uncle Tony in Maryland and decided to make the "slightly" out of way trip down to Richmond to see Jenn as well. When my lunch trip was pushed a day, I decided to go see Jenn first and our night turned into our accidental first date. We had Indian food for dinner, ate ice cream on the rooftop, made cookies, and of course watched 3 hours of Great British Baking Show. An unexpected night for us both left us wondering if dating was a good idea being 2,000 miles apart. Within two weeks of "taking it casual and seeing where it goes", Jenn had plane tickets to Idaho during her spring break in March and we never looked back. We dated long distance for a year and a half with Facetime calls every night, trips to see each other every few months, and patiently waiting the day we could be together in the same state. Finally in April 2023, I decided to pack up and move to Richmond and start our lives together and it was the best decision I ever made. Jenn welcomed me into her community of loving friends and delicious eateries and I have always felt at home. Our lives changed in such a positive way from that point forward establishing ourselves in our home city. In May of 2024, we traveled to Colorado to see Jenn's favorite band, Bleachers, at a bucket-list venue, the Red Rock Amphitheater. I decided to add a stop on our trip to the Rocky Mountain National Park for the perfect backdrop to a proposal. In front of Dream Lake, I made mine come true asking my best friend to be my life partner. It always felt so natural between us and having the foundation of our friendship propelled us into being the best teammates. Looking back on where we began, it is so exciting to know our future will be packed with endless laughs, the sweetest hugs, adventures both big and small, but most importantly, a lifetime of happiness with my best friend.